Barn Swallows, Robins, and Larks
by Punzie the Platypus
Summary: Maria takes the children strawberry-picking one morning after they've grown too fidgety enduring the Baroness's visit. This becomes a beautiful memory that prompts the children's answer to the Captain's question of where they were the afternoon they asked for Maria at the Abbey. Based on the film.


**_Solo Deo gloria_**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own The Sound of Music. This is purely a fictitious story of the Hollywood rendition of the Sound of Music, written as one of the latest Christmas presents in the world to a friend. :)**

When the Captain asked the children where they had been that miserable afternoon, their first instinct was to create a cover story. If Father really knew that his seven children had tramped in their play clothes downtown, unsupervised, to see Fraulein Maria, who'd left them with nary a satisfactory note, nothing resembling a goodbye. . . None of them would soon forget the strict sternness of their navy father.

Their second thought was to frantically answer his question of "Where had they been?" They wracked their brains for any and all thoughts of occupations of time and Friedrich burst out, "We were berry-picking!"

As the other children chorused to back up this claim, Liesel felt a little sigh in the back of her mind as she went back to the happy bliss they'd all enjoyed just one week ago.

It was Maria's idea to go berry-picking. It was a beautiful spring day in Austria and the children had been out of sorts ever since they'd gotten up on the wrong side of the bed. The Baroness's presence made them all stiff-backed and polite, and they squirmed and grew restless under the guise of being good children to their guest. Today they were thoroughly fidgety, giggly, mischievous, twinkle-eyed, and wicked-hearted. Breakfast was a torture as feet tapped against the floor, awkward and sudden noises broke out from behind sealed lips, and funny little grins appeared ominously on their faces. The Captain didn't say much in the way of a reprimand, seeing as they were dining with the Baroness, but he finally resumed his sternness when his children's rowdiness culminated in a seven-pealed burst of laughter. He would've gotten further in his scolding if Maria hadn't leapt up and said, "The children are restless this morning; the spring air coming through the windows is pure intoxication for youth. I've often felt the call to the outdoors myself. Come, come, children, let's go explore."

The Captain von Trapp of a month ago would've balked at the very idea of his children romping through the woods; now he looked relieved at the prospect. "Sounds like good, healthy exercise," he said in agreement.

"Yes; it's so beautiful outside. This country air is working wonders. Perhaps we shall take a walk this morning, Georg," the Baroness suggested.

"What a fine idea, Elsa," the Captain replied.

This exchange only spurred the children to flee their chairs, excuse themselves to their father, and run to the safety of Fraulein Maria's presence, reminding one of ducklings flocking to their mother. The Baroness, despite her failed attempts at engaging pleasantly with the children, felt a pang of jealousy in her heart. They so easily gathered around Maria. They loved her. And the Captain loved his children. . .

She turned back to dance her fork over her breakfast plate, a slightly ruffled frown on her face.

Maria threw open the front door and the children bounded out. It was a gorgeous day; one couldn't sit still and pore over lessons with one's back straight and one's manner stiff and silent. No—the children felt as frolicky as lambs as they breathed in the fresh mountain air and trickled along the bank of their lake.

Maria took up the rear of the group, holding the trusting hand of short-legged Gretel. Maria raised her nose to the air and inhaled deeply. "Oh, smell that air. Doesn't that make you happy to be alive?"

The children did so; Liesel gasped and said, "Do you smell that?"

The trailing line stopped as numerous noses inquisitively smelled the air. "That smells familiar, but what is it?" Kurt wanted to know.

"It smells like spring. Doesn't it, Fraulein Maria?" Gretel looked expectantly at her governess for affirmation of this observation.

"Yes it does, Gretel. It smells like warmth and richness and red, like the sweetness and comfort of something I myself like very much," Maria said leadingly. She looked down into each curious eye, waiting for an answer.

Friedrich snapped his fingers. "Strawberries! That's fresh strawberries in the air!"

Maria indulged in a heavy inhale and closed her eyes as she nodded. "Yes, Friedrich, and what an air it is."

"They smell delicious!" Louisa glowed.

"We have to pick some. We'll never do anything except sniff the air otherwise," factual Brigitta reminded them.

This declaration resulted in a great agreeing chorus of siblings. They turned to Maria, who said, "Well, no use in standing here like idle bunny rabbits wrinkling their noses. The back shed must have some picking baskets, now won't it?"

At any other time they'd have just sent the boys to fetch the baskets, as they were the quickest, but to exert their great need to run the fidgetiness out of them all, they retraced their steps as a whole group.

The Baroness stood at a back window bantering with Max and soothing Georg as the brothers conversed. She caught a glimpse of the yelling, leaping horde hitting the shed like an arrow launched into a target and hitting its bull's-eye. She watched the boys tinker with the lock with surprising easy urgency and dart inside. She then saw Maria and Louisa laughing as they swung Gretel between them. The three were in such happy laughter that the Baroness turned away from the window with a cool look and adopted a smile as she took a seat by Georg, safely away from the clear window. Perhaps they wouldn't go on a walk that morning after all. It was quieter inside the empty house.

Baskets produced, a shrieking romp followed Fraulein Maria, who'd taken plenty of early morning walks around the property (she loved talking to God surrounded by beautiful Creation) and knew exactly where that tantalizing scent of strawberries was calling from.

It was a delicious wild colony of strawberries along a thick sprinkling of wild flowers. They were thick and half tangled with masses of indifferent weeds, but the children fell to them like rapturous squirrels happening upon a forgotten pile of nuts. They flew like pretty barn swallows, scaring up dirt under their fingernails, tearing their play clothes in their excitement, and earning rosy red in their cheeks.

"How'd we never know about this place? I feel slighted," Kurt said around a mouthful of berries.

"Father's never let us run about the estate before, not since the death of Mother. There's no reason for us to have ever found this place before," Liesel pointed out. She was amongst the cleanest of her siblings, taking to stretching her longer arms farther instead of stepping deeper into the swamp-like conditions around the patch.

"That's true. We never would've done this without Fraulein Maria. Goodness, we wouldn't be allowed anything except schedules and military strictness without Fraulein Maria. Three cheers for Fraulein Maria!" With this rather unusually long and respectful speech from Friedrich, he led forth his siblings in a great cheer. Kurt and Liesel counted themselves as the loudest of the group.

Maria, touched by their gratitude and crediting, said, "Oh, come now, you're being too nice to me and far too critical of your poor father."

"Maybe we wouldn't be so critical of him if we just knew more about him," Liesel said in a quiet way, as if willing to forgive her father if he would just _be_ her father.

"But he never has time for us," Brigitta said briskly, dropping her berries quickly into her basket.

"I think we rather look like Mother and therefore must be a painful reminder to him," Louisa observed quietly.

"He has plenty of time for the Baroness, though." Kurt was unbelievably callous and blunt, even for forgiving Maria. She said, "Now Kurt, that's no way to speak. I'm sure Louisa is closer to the truth, which is an unfortunate fact that there's not much to be done about."

"I'm glad we have you, Fraulein Maria. _You_ like to be with us," Marta said gratefully.

Maria didn't feel entirely comfortable being unanimously favored by the children over their own father. She spun the conversation as Gretel came running to sit in her lap and show off the whole six strawberries she'd picked. "I'm sure that he will spend more time with you after the Baronness's visit is done. He's seen you sing; I'm sure that he's anxious to spend more time with his children. He's not a bad man, your father. He means well."

"Let's not talk any more of the Baroness." Liesel wore a strange, sober face. She shared this look with Maria, who was full of sympathy. Though she was only sixteen, young and full of innocence and naiveté, she wasn't blind. They two shared an inkling that this visit of the Baroness's would never end.

"Yes, I agree. Let's talk of how these berries shall be eaten. Shall we ask Cook to prepare them with cake or cream?" Maria wanted to know.

"I vote 'plain'!" Friedrich shouted, to the joyous encores of this cry by his siblings. Gretel said nothing but held up a berry to pop into Maria's mouth. Maria accepted this offering cheerfully, and chewed as she jumped up, saying, "Well, then, if plain it is, we must see about picking as much as possible, before Kurt eats them all!" Gretel pulled her to the patch and they all laughed and Maria patted Kurt on the back. "You know I kid, Kurt."

The activity took on its cheerful tone once more as a robin lighted on a nearby tree and set forth an inspiring song from his breast that coaxed another song from the throats of these barn swallows, led by Maria. They carried on like larks long after they'd picked every berry from that particular patch. Maria knew of another in a small grove a stone's throw away, but decided that some must be left for the poor robin and his fellow bird neighbors to eat, and so was silent about her knowledge of it as she led the long singing train back from whence they came.

What berries that'd somehow miraculously not been consumed by the red lips of the pickers were served in pretty bowls and eaten with nothing but silver spoons by the von Trapps and guests that evening. They were exclaimed over exceedingly. The Baroness had nothing but praise for them. Even the Captain smiled and said they were 'very good for such early spring'.

"It's all Fraulein Maria. She knew exactly where to find them," Friedrich said generously. His brothers and sisters nodded and made supporting noises of assent all around the table.

"They're very good, Fraulein Maria. You've an excellent nose for seeking out strawberries." The Baroness said this in a pleasant voice, but still Maria blushed.

"You're very kind, Baroness," she said quietly.

The Captain looked across the table at Maria. All he said was, "Yes, very good."

This lasting memory of Fraulein Maria seeking to spend time with them out-of-doors, combined with their miserable, unproductive afternoon seeking out this same governess who was no longer their governess but no less loved by them, had prompted the answer "We were berry-picking." This memory was mulled over later by Liesel, after they'd stumbled through their lie, been sentenced to starve to death, and then been reunited with their wonderful Fraulein Maria once more:

On one hand, she didn't want to compare her dear Father to her thoughtful Fraulein Maria. On the other, she couldn't help it every time. They were really quite opposites, though he was coming around to them. Though it was not yet a true reconciliation, the barn swallows did like it when their father sang with them as Fraulein Maria did. Liesel could only hope that the Baroness would soon take off from their homey nest, so that the barn swallows could chirp like robins and sing all together like larks once more.

 **Thanks for reading! Review?**


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